When you head out to the wilderness with everything you need strapped to your back, you realize quickly that lighter is better. Backpacking stoves are single-burner cook stoves designed to add minimal weight and bulk to your pack. The primary difference among the various stoves is the type of fuel, which determines how the stove is constructed and its performance under various conditions.
Liquid Fuel Stoves
Most liquid-fuel backpacking stoves burn white gas, or naphtha, but may also burn gasoline and other fuels. The fuel is contained in a separate, refillable canister. Liquid gas requires pressurization so it will flow through the stove plumbing, requiring pumping and priming before use. These stoves perform well in extremely cold weather and high elevations. Due to the extra hardware and plumbing required, these are the heaviest and bulkiest stoves.
Expedition Stoves
Backpacking stoves designed for more extreme conditions, particularly cold weather and high altitudes, are often classified as expedition or mountaineering stoves. Pressurized gas stoves perform poorly in these conditions, so expedition stoves burn liquid fuel. These stoves tend to be multi-fuel stoves, designed to burn white gas, gasoline, or other liquid fuels, allowing you to more easily replenish your fuel supply in remote locations.
Pressurized Gas Stoves
Gas stoves burn pressurized gas, such as propane or butane. The fuel is sold in nonrefillable canisters. Gas stoves do not require pumping or priming, and are usually no more than a single burner that mounts directly to the top of the fuel canister. Gas stoves are light and easy to use, but they do not perform well in extreme cold, the canisters are not reusable, and the fuel may not be available in remote locations.
Alcohol Stoves
Alcohol stoves burn denatured and other types of alcohol. These stoves are light and simple, comprised of a metal dish to hold the alcohol and keep the pot above the flame. Many backpackers make their own alcohol stoves from soda or tuna cans. The fuel is odorless, easy to find, inexpensive, and does not require a heavy canister. The light weight and fuel availability make alcohol stoves a favorite among ultralight backpackers and through-hikers. A drawback is that you cannot control the amount of flame.
Solid-fuel Stoves
Solid-fuel stoves are simple units that use a small tablet of hexamine or trioxane fuel. These stoves are little more than a piece of metal to hold the burning tablet off the ground and hold your cooking pot over the flame. Solid-fuel stoves are incredibly light because the fuel does not require a special canister or plumbing. There is no control over the amount flame, however, and the fuel tablets are the most-expensive and least-available type of fuel.
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